Former Gitmo Detainees Lead Yemeni Al-Qaeda Group Linked to Detroit Bomber

Figures. The leaders of the Detroit bomber’s Al-Qaeda group are Gitmo Grads.

Two Gitmo grads rehabilitated in Saudi Arabia rejoined the jihad and made a movie earlier this year.
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Sufyan al-Azdi al-Shahri (right) and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu al-Hareth Muhammad al-Oufi appeared in a threatening Al-Qaeda movie earlier this year. Said Ali al-Shihri (or al-Shahri) passed through a Saudi rehabilitation program for former jihadists before resurfacing with Al Qaeda in Yemen. (AFP)

Earlier this week we learned that the Saudi and Yemeni branches of al-Qaida had formally merged. The release of Sada al-Malahim on Monday was accompanied by an extract from an interview with AQY leader Nasir al-Wuhayshi, who said the Saudi mujahidin had pledged allegiance to him and agreed to form a united organization under the old name “al-Qaida on the Arabian Peninsula.”

…The video, entitled “From here we begin and in Jerusalem we will meet”, featured Nasir al-Wuhayshi, Said al-Shihri, Qasim al-Raymi and Muhammad al-Awfi seated side by side, each giving a 4-minute statement. The video served at least three purposes. The first was to tap into popular outrage over Gaza. The speakers presented their campaign as part of the struggle to liberate Palestine, since Israel and the Crusaders are one. They also cited the famous hadith according to which “an army of 12000 men will come out of Abyan to help God and his messenger”, and showed footage from a training camp as if to suggest that al-Qaida is currently building that army. (Incidentally, President Salih allegedly also proposed training volunteers for combat in Gaza). The second purpose was to display the union between the Saudi and Yemeni mujahidin. The seating arrangement (Yemeni-Saudi-Yemeni-Saudi) and mutual praise signalled a happy marriage. The third aim was to humiliate Saudi authorities, who have let al-Shihri and al-Awfi, both former Guantanamo detainees (ISN# 372 and 333 respectively) and graduates of the famous rehabilitation program, slip away. Unless al-Shihri and al-Awfi are agents (which I doubt), their appearance is indeed extremely embarrassing for Saudi authorities.

Today Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, based in Yemen, has claimed responsibility for Friday’s attempted bombing of a Delta Airlines plane as it approached Detroit on a flight from Amsterdam with almost 300 people on board. The terror group released its message on several Al-Qaeda-linked websites.

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